Automatic cluth-lever regulator.



W. E. EASTMAN. AUTOMATIC ULUfTGH LEVER REGULATOR. APPLICATION FILED 00T. 1s, 1911;

Patented Jan. 6, 1914.

J'NTED STATES PATENT WILLIAM E. EASTMAN, F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

AUTOMATIC CLUTCHi-LEVER REGULATOR.

i matic Clutch-Lever Regulators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relatesto apparatus to control automatically, the operation of the clutch lever employed in changing the speed of a mechanically driven mechanism, but particularly that for imparting movement to a conveyance, such for example, as a vehicle 'an internal combustion engine, with pedal or boat.

. The objects of my invention are, first, t0

. secure a graduated movement to regulate the action ol the clutch lever, so as to obviate the concussion likely to result 'from the ordinary control of the lever, as by foot pressure; and to enable the operator to direct his attention to 'ard governing the movements ot the conveyance; and, second, to render and retain the clutch in inoperative position, while the transmission gears are being sl'ii't'tedby the lever to desired speed positions; and, third, to obtain such other objects as may be hereinafter described and clain'ied. l attain these object-s by opposing the spring that returnsI the clutch lever, and hence the clutch. into operative position, with pneumatimllly controlled mechanism, whereby when the clutch lever is released, the spring is permitted', 1st,.to move with rapidity the clutehlever from its extreme outward position, 'to a position where the clutch mechanism is about 'to become engaged; 2nd, to move the lever and clutch with less speed into engagement; and 3rd, to more with still less speed the lever, and hence the clutch, into intimate, and stop in, locking engagei'nent.

ln the drawings illustrating the principle ol my invention, and the best mode now known to me of vembodying it in operative structure, l have shown my invention e111- bodied in an apparatus designed to control the pedal clutch employed in regulating the speed of automobiles.

Figure l'is a fragmentary perspective ot' clutch provided with my invention. Fig. 2 designates a plan of my dcvirc in operative position, the clutch lever, not shown, shifted forward with the piston stem` locked, and

Specification of Letters Patent. Application led October 18, 1911. Serial No. 655,306.

Patented J an. 6, 1914.

piston at the upper or outward end of the cylinder'. Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly 'in longitudinal section, with the piston stem released, 'and piston at the lower or inner end ofits cylinder. Fig.. 4 denotes an eX- terior elevation of a part of the vehicle sideadjacent to the operators seat, exhibiting the locationof an air lock for making abortive the functions of the regulator Whenever desired. Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the cylinder with a regulator actuating de vice and foot board, in transverse section.

A cylinder 1 has a screw-threaded head 2,

provided with valvesv 3, 3', to control the fiow of air into'and out of the cylinder, and has an integral projection 4, to which is pivotally attached a lever 5, actuated against foot pressure, by a retaining spring 6 con.- fined to said projection 4 by a stud 7. The foot of the cylinder 1 has a similarly screwthreaded cap 8 provided With integral extensions 9, 9, the end portions of which have ti'unnion screws 10, 10, pivotally confining and supporting said cylinder 1 to a. tr11nnion sleeve 1l rotatably upheld on a standard 12, and movahly secured thereto by a nut 13. (.lircumferential slots 14, 14, in said sleeves 1l, permit the passage therethrough of a stud 15 in screw engagement with the standard 12; said slotspermitting a limited rotation of the sleeve 11 about the stud 15, induced by any 'lateral movement of the clutch lever 20. Adjustment of the stud 15 may be effected by a regulation nut 16. The standard 12 also forms a part of a base plate 1T constituting an anchorage yWhich may be attached to the engine, substantially, as shown in Fig. 1,'or in any other suitable manner. (loacting with the end of the stud 15 adjacent to the cylinder 1, Fig. 3, will be observed a plate 18 havinga depression 19, the annular rim of which is designed to contact with the point of the stud 15, as the cylinder is caused slightly to oscillate in a vvertical plane, on its trunnions 10, 10, by the ,wir

lf2 l 1,083,352

ygaging a. portion of the cap 8; th'e stein of v the #valve having a seat 1n said cap.

spring 23 acting against the1plate18, tends to hold the valve 22 in its seat. Aiir ports 2l lead into a chamber 25 beneath the valve 22. -There is a catch slot 27, Figs. 9x, 3 and 5, in the piston or connecting rod l28 to engage the latch lever 5, when the foot lever 2O is pushed forward, thus retaining the apparatus in effective working position relative tothe action of the clutch lever 20, until the apparatus is released, ,as by foot pressure through a spring restrained pedal plunger 29, Fig. located in the carriage foot board convenient to the operator., The rod 28 has adjustably secured thereto, a collar 80 pivot-- ally connected to a bracket 31 embracing the clutch lever 20, substantially appears in l `ig. 3; the position of the collar being governed by the stroke required of said rod.

To render abortive` the apparatus, should the operator prefer the usual method of. manipulating the clutch lever .or should the operator desire to have more or`less air escape from the cylinder during the pistonsy inward stroke, to perfect the operation of the regulator, an air lock 32 Fi preferably situate interiorly ofthe veic e side, but, for discernment, is shown exteriorly,

comprises al casing havin a longitudinal! slot 84, inclosing a manna ly rotatable cylinder providedwith anair vport 33, -s'aid slot and port being normally out of aliner'nent to prevent egress of air from the cylinder of the regulator, communication withv which is established by a flexible conduit secured to` the open nipple 36.

The operation of my inventionmay be described as follows f-Assuming the vehicle to be standing,l with the engine running, the lever 20, Figs 1 and 3, is thrust forward by the operators foot until the piston rod 28 is locked lby lever 5,Fig. 5;.the friction clutches not illustrated, are now held 'out of contact, while the transmission gears, not. shown, may, at the drivers convenience, be shifted to positionv to obtain the -desired forward speed' or the reverse speed. But while the lever 20, pistn rod28 and piston 26, Figs. l and 3, are moving forward and outward, the cylinder is moving downward about its pivots or trunnion screws 10, 10,v Fig. 3; but during the downwardm'ovement of the cylinder the rib 1f), it' the valve 242 has not already been' drawn up off of its seat, by the outward movement of the piston,v contacts the point of the stud l5, which,

against the action of vthe spring' 23, forces i the (plate 18, valve'stem and valve 2Q forthat there is no substantial opposition offered to the forward movement of the clutch lever 20. The transmission gears having been shifted, the clutches may be moved into contact by releasing the clutch lever Q0, held in forward position by the en agement of the lever 5 and the slot 27 in tevpiston rod 28, by pedal pressure on the lunger 29, Fig. which actuates the lock ever 5. At this moment of time, the rib 19 of the plate 18 lies below the point of the stud 15, instead of above it as shown in Fig-3,

-but upon the release of the clutch lever la spring, not shown, forces the clutch lever rearwardly precipitately, say for two thirds of the length of the stroke of the piston, air followingin through the'valve 3', while the air in the opposite side of the piston is being compressed. But at this point of the stroke, the rib 19 has moved up-v wardly in the arc a, a, come into contact with the point of the stud 15, Fig. 3, and has caused the valve 22 to moveup oif of itsseat, thereby permitting the compressed air" to flow out also through the orts'24 until the rib moves up and away rom the point of the stud. This additional esca for the compressed air is such that the plsl ton, and hence the clutch lever 20 is moving still slower than when the rib contacted the point of the stud, and the friction clutches are just. moving into engagement. After the rib leaves thepoint of the stud, the valve snaps back into its seat, and the air being again compressed, the piston moves still slower, until the friction clutches are in intimate and operative engagement. It will thus be seen that the clutch lever is permitted to move with great quickness from its extremeoutward position to that in which the clutches are about to engage; that the speed of the clutch lever, and hence the speed with which the friction plates of the clutch come into engagement, is still further reduced by the slight escape of air; and, after the plates begin to engage, the speed iseven stillfurther reduced by air compression, until the clutch lever and the clutch plates have completed their movements. ln this way, a graduated motion for the clutch lever and plates is obtained,

vwhereby there' are eliminated, first, all

abrupt and concussivc actions which are likelyto accompany the ordinary method of pedal manipulation by the operator; second, the necessity for the operator to retain his foot in' the same position on the rearward movement of the clutch lever 20, as in the iuil ial forward movement, in order to restrain the' impetus of ari uninterrupted 'rearward mm'ement, resulting in concussion. noise, and objectionable vibration and .sl-.celte to the carriage and its occupants; and third, thc attention required in causing the clutch actually to engage, and which ioo can be directed to other matters denninded in propelling an automobile.

By the pneumatic action of the regulator', all the parts of the connected mechanism respond in a' ,manner to avoid the greater resist-ance andconsequent wear of the parts resulting from the ordinary described method of controlling the clutch lever.

If the operator desires to render the regulator inoperative, so that the clutch lever can be operated,as if there were no regu- 'lator,l1e can do so by opening the opening 33, Fig. 1, in the flexible tube '35, connected to the open nipple 36, Fig. 3, by moving it into alinement with the opening 34, Fig. 4. By so doing, the open nipple is opened to the outside air, and a rearward movement of the clutch leverQO, and piston tends to force the air ahead of it, out through the nipple 36, tube 35, and ports and 34. Normally, these parts, and hence the nipple, are closed. If desirable further to control the speed with which the piston, and hence the regulator, operates, the'air lock may be opened more or less, as required, to permit more 0r less air to escape from the cylinder during the inward stroke of the piston, yin addition to the escape of air due to the momentary opening and closing of the main valve in the bottom of the cylinder. This feature is of particular value where the regualtor has to be adapted 'for use in various kinds ot clutch mechanism. A regulator without it might be satisfactory on one car but not on another. It is an improvement whereby a fine adjustment of the regulator may be easily and quickly at tained.

To prevent the lock lever from engaging the lock slot 27 inthe piston .rod and thus holding the lock lever in extreme outward position, the spring 6, may be removed. To render the regulator operative again, the openings 33,134, are again moved out of alinement, the nipple 3G becoming closed to the air, and the spring 6 controlling the lock lever, is restored.

Desiring to protect my invention inthe A broadest manner legally possible, what I claim is i l. In an apparatus tor regulating the movement ot a lever, an oscillating cylinder the lever; a valve in the foot of the cylinder, normally closed; and means induced by the oscillation of the cylinder to open and close said valve momentarily before the piston completes the end oi itsY inward stroke.

2. A clutch lever regulator comprising an oscillating cylinder; a piston therein having a4 piston rod attached to the lever of said regulator; a valve in the foot of said cylin der, normally closed, and means, induced .by

the oscillation of the cylinder, to open andl close said valve momentarily before the end of the inward stroke of the piston to permitI enough air to escape tov allow the pistonto have a diiierential inward motion.

In an apparatus for regulating the movement of a lever, an oscillating cylinder having a piston rod; asupporting base; a stud in said base; a valve in said cylinder; and means on said valve to coact with the stud, to momentarily open and close the valve before the end of the inward stroke -ot` the piston, to permit the escape otl air from within the cylinder.

Ll. A clutch lever regulator comprising an oscillatingcylinder; a piston therein having a connecting rod; a spring retained lever a valve in said cylinder; a plate thereto attached having a. depression provided with an annular rim; means independent of the cylinder for actuating said valve at a predeter mined point in the path ot' oscillation ot' said cylinder.

5. In an automatic regulator embodying a cylinder provided with a piston; a piston rod provided with a catch slot; a clutch lever; means pivotally connecting together, the piston rod, and the clutch lever; means coaeting with said slot to automatically confine said piston at a certain interval in its stroke; and means to release said piston at the will ot' the operator.

6,. In an apparatus for regulating the movement of a lever, an oscillating cylinder having a piston; a piston rod connected to the lever; a valve in the foot of the cylinder, normally elosed;1neans induced by the oscillation of the cylinder to open and close said valve momentarily before the piston completes the end of its inward stroke; and an air lock, communicating with the cylinder, whereby additional air may escape from the cylinder, or may be absolutely prevented, during the inward stroke of the piston; all designed to perfect the operative speed of the regulator in connection Willi a particular clutch mechanism.

7. An automatic regulator embodying a cylinder provided with a piston, and having a piston rod provided with a catch slot and having a collar; a clutch lever; a bracket, thereto attached, and pivotally connected with said collar; means eoacting with said l i `slot to automatically confine said piston" at having a plston; a piston rod connected to a certain interval of its stroke; and means to release said piston at the will of the open ator.

S. A clutch lever regulator comprising an oscillating cylinder; a piston therein having a connecting rod pivotally attached to said lever and tlzneby outwardly actuated; said rod having a slot for its confinement at the end of its outward stroke; and means attached to said cylinder for the release of said rod, by pedal pressure; a valve in the toot of said cylinder normally closed means induced by the oscillation of the cylinder, to

open said valvemomentarily admitting air to retard the final action of the piston to cure a differential motion thereof tor the purpose specitied.

9. in an apparatus for regulating the movement or" a lever, an oscillating` cylinder having a piston and a piston rod adapted to be automaticallyT secured at a certain interval; a supporting hase having rotatable sleeve provided with slots, limiting its rotation; a studv coacting with the sleeve.; a valve in said cylinder; means on said valve coacting with the stud, lo actuate the valve to admit air within the cylinder. l l

l0. clutch leier regulator' comprising an oscillating' cylinder; a piston ther-ein having a connecting rod ;'means for the confinement oit said rod at the limit of its outward stroke; a spring retained lever; and means to release said rod; a `falve in said cylinder;

a vplate thereto attached having a depression provided with an annular rim; means, independent of the-cylinder, for actuating said valve at a predetermined point in the path of oscillation of said cylinder.

l1. In an apparatus for governing the action of a clutch lever7 an oscillating cylinder having a piston; a piston rod, secured to said lever which is adapted to move the piston outwardly by pedal action, and inwardly by the movement of said lever; means, connected to said cylinder to admit automatically air thereto, and governed by the oscillations thereof; in combination with an air lock; and means connecting and communicating With said air lock and the compression chamber of the oscillating cylinder; to permit escape of air therefrom, and not retard the movement of the piston, when ilisuse of the regulator is desired.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

WlLLlM l". ESTMAN.

Witnesses Gro. il". CAULniNs,

C. B. SPENCER. 

